Like The Ryder Cup, The Junior Ryder Cup is a biennial contest between Europe and America with the difference being that the teams consist of six boys and six girls under the age of 18.

The event showcases the next generation of stars and is a celebration of the impressive development work which takes place at grassroots level by youngsters and their families, volunteers, PGA professionals, clubs and governing bodies, on both sides of the Atlantic.

The idea for the Junior Ryder Cup came about in 1995, when Ryder Cup Europe and the European Golf Association got together and sent a team of European juniors, containing a 15-year-old Sergio Garcia, to play an informal exhibition match against Central New York PGA Section and area juniors. Two years later the Junior Ryder Cup was formally introduced as an event in its own right, being played at Alcaidesa Links and San Roque golf courses in Cadiz, Spain and won by America.

In 1999 the contest was held at Country Club of New Seabury in Cape Cod, Massachusetts which Europe won, and Europe maintained their dominance over the next five years, winning at The K Club in Ireland in 2002 and at Westfield Group Country Club in Ohio in 2004.

The 2006 match was tied at The Celtic Manor Resort in Wales, and two years later the Americans won convincingly, at The Club at Olde Stone in Kentucky. This win started a run of three consecutive American wins in 2008, 2010 at The Geneagles Hotel and 2012 at Olympia Fields Country Club.

The Junior Ryder Cup has been the platform from which successful professional careers have been launched for several players. Spaniard Sergio Garcia played in the 1995 exhibition match and four years later was part of the full European Team at The Country Club in Brookline, while Norwegian Suzann Pettersen played in the Junior Ryder Cup in 1997 and 1999 before becoming a major winner and taking part in seven Solheim Cups so far. Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy was in the victorious 2004 team and has already won three Major championships in addition to playing two Ryder Cups, while for the American Hunter Mahan, having been in the 1999 team, has progressed to become a multiple US PGA Tour winner and twice a Ryder Cup Player. Lexi Thompson played the Junior Ryder Cup in 2008 as a 13-year-old and has gone on to win a Major championship and played on the 2013 American Solheim Cup side.